There is a key point here. There is nothing to stop any public school system from opening its doors to any and all comers. The tax money might not follow the kids, BUT, you could charge them tuition. That would put your school on an equal footing with the private schools.

But, in a less affluent county, say like mine (Harlan) folks can't afford the tuition. You are assuming everyone can afford $3000/yr. Its apples and oranges comparing a rural vs and urban area paradigm.

I'm with you. It's hard to compete as a public school when all you have to offer is TOTAL FREE RIDES to all of your athletes; including tuition, books, supplies, athletics fees, higher paid coaches/teachers (higher than private schools).

 

I mean, it's such an advantage for the private schools when they require financial commitments, and sometimes hardships, from their students and their families.... :rolleyes:

 

There is an advantage there that many people don't want to face. When parents send their children to a private school, there is automatic accountability. If I'm going to pay, whatever it is right now, to send my twins to kindergarten like we have, I'm going to meet with the teachers, I'm going to make sure my children do their assignments, and I'm sure as heck going to make sure they listent to their teachers. When more of yourself is vested in a program, the more you give to it. The fact that parents are paying hard earned money to put them through school makes them want to become involved in that school. Not saying that this doesn't happen in public schools, but it is prevelant in privates. That is the major reason that private schools are more successful in football, where every player has to be disciplined in his assignment every play.

But, in a less affluent county, say like mine (Harlan) folks can't afford the tuition. You are assuming everyone can afford $3000/yr. Its apples and oranges comparing a rural vs and urban area paradigm.

 

Then that isn't an issue of private v. public. That is rural v. urban, and that is economic, not competitive.

After having children in both public and private over the past 15 years I have seen it all. Families picking up and moving of one county to another or from one part of town to another so that their sons and daughters can play on a sports team that would showcase their childs talent. I have heard people say that if they send their kids to a school with a winning program university's may see them and offer a scholarship. Fact being, more student's have a better chance of getting an academic ride if they apply themselves. The playing field is level there. I would have a easier time with this private/public debate if education was ever mentioned. Look at the statistics of students that continue their education after graduating from a private school vs public, it's unbelievable. Financial aid is available to any student with just a little paper work. I'm sick of the belly aching about this debate.

Oh BTW HHS is a public school, so they are very close to one..... NCC is what two/three miles apart....

 

Lets see, NCC, Dayton, Beluve, Highlands, Newport, Holmes, Dixie, Holy Cross, Ludlow, Beechwood, Simon Kenton, Scott, Lloyd, St. Henry, Boone County, Conner, Ryle, Villa, CovLatin oh and NDA....who am I leaving out....are all within a 15 mile radius of each other.... Hard to believe isn't it... And three of them are in the State Football Finals......

 

I would like to hear some of the posters from Beechwood comment on this issue as they are very competetive with a private school in N.C.C. that is in their district. What is your stance in this public/private debate? From what I gather in the polls that have been posted most of the B-wood supporters vote and cheer for N.C.C.? For that matter the Male posters opinion on competing year in and year out with Trinity and St.X.? Do you feel that you are at a disadvantage? Is the playing field level in your opinion?

We have played N.C.C. 2 years running and lost by substantial margins but I felt we were competetive and without mistakes we made could have come out as winners.

I would like to hear some of the posters from Beechwood comment on this issue as they are very competetive with a private school in N.C.C. that is in their district. What is your stance in this public/private debate? From what I gather in the polls that have been posted most of the B-wood supporters vote and cheer for N.C.C.? For that matter the Male posters opinion on competing year in and year out with Trinity and St.X.? Do you feel that you are at a disadvantage? Is the playing field level in your opinion?

We have played N.C.C. 2 years running and lost by substantial margins but I felt we were competetive and without mistakes we made could have come out as winners.

 

Somerset had a great year. I think the only difference really may have been that NewCath was a little more battle tested due to its tough schedule this year, hence the crackdown in TO's.

There is a key point here. There is nothing to stop any public school system from opening its doors to any and all comers. The tax money might not follow the kids, BUT, you could charge them tuition. That would put your school on an equal footing with the private schools.

 

In a more rural area such as ours it would make little difference. Very few students would be able to afford the tuition that Somerset would have to charge to accept them and still be financially viable. I wasn't really making a complaint on the public/private issue concerning Somerset. In our case we are limited more by the neighboring school system and population base. If we had several school systems in the county and an open enrollment policy then it would make it more feasible to draw students. I think the biggest problem with the public/private matter has alread been addressed and that was the disparity in enrollment in the current 4A system. It had far less of an effect on the lower 3 classes anyway.

In a more rural area such as ours it would make little difference. Very few students would be able to afford the tuition that Somerset would have to charge to accept them and still be financially viable. I wasn't really making a complaint on the public/private issue concerning Somerset. In our case we are limited more by the neighboring school system and population base. If we had several school systems in the county and an open enrollment policy then it would make it more feasible to draw students. I think the biggest problem with the public/private matter has alread been addressed and that was the disparity in enrollment in the current 4A system. It had far less of an effect on the lower 3 classes anyway.

 

 

To some extent I think it is also more an urban/rural issue than public/private anyway. Kentucky's more urban areas can use open enrollment much more effectively on account of the size of the population in a given area. Allowing for more magnet programs and educational diversity by giving some schools areas in which to specialize. The athletic benefits are merely a side effect.

To some extent I think it is also more an urban/rural issue than public/private anyway. Kentucky's more urban areas can use open enrollment much more effectively on account of the size of the population in a given area. Allowing for more magnet programs and educational diversity by giving some schools areas in which to specialize. The athletic benefits are merely a side effect.

 

I think that's very much true. Even if there were open enrollment throughout Pulaski Co the popluation base would not be there to draw from like it is in the much more populated Northern Kentucky area. Like I said I feel the biggest disparity has been leveled with the move to 6 classes. T and X will now be playing schools much closer to their own size throughout the playoffs. Under the old format it was much more difficult for the smaller 4A teams to compete with the larger ones. As far as the other public/private issues go--yes there are some differences between the way the schools operate but public schools such as Danville, Mayfield, Boyle Co, Beechwood, Highlands etc have proven for years that they can more than hold their own against the private schools in their classes. Now that there are 6 classes and each school should be competing against schools with similar enrollments the onus is on the public schools to improve their programs.

4A: Private

3A: Private

2A: Public

1A: Public

Its pretty simple in our case. They only allow Somerset to receive state funding for a set number of out of district students. Somerset could still accept the county students but the funding for them would go to the county school. When I was in school this wasn't a problem as there was only 1 county school and it was overcrowded. Once SW opened and increased the capacity of the county system a quota was put in place. Several times over the years the city itself has annexed in more land but in each case the county declined to allow Somerset Schools to annex the students.

 

 

Then all your school would have to do is charge higher tuition to the students

whos funds are not released. That is what they do at Beechwood.

I can not believe that this is still a debated topic. The score board does not lie. Once again the state is dominated by private schools due to the "uhum, cough, uhum," fact that the privates work harder and are better coached.

I'm gonna go with T being the only private winner.

:thumb:

The rules regarding athletic competition are the same for everyone. What you are seeing are enrollment differences between districts which can affect athletics although they are not controlled by the KHSAA. For instance in Louisville there is open enrollment, any kid can go to any school in the district they choose. The whole concept of who can go where is NOT the purview of the KHSAA, it is up to the individual school districts to determine what they will and will not do in regards to boundaries and so forth.

 

This is the problem we keep having. Everyone abides by KHSAA rules but not every district's attendance rules are the same. It is not so much the "esoteric gobblygoop" as it is understanding what the rules for athletic competition are who is responsible for those rules. They are two seprate entities essentially. Attendance boundaries and limits are determined by individual school districts, not some overrarching authority in the state of Kentucky.

 

Does that help any?

 

Sorry for the delay. It does help, and after talking more with old friends of the family from CCHS I think it really boils down to smart people planning years ahead. These programs get heavy involvement from boosters, from hands-on comforts (meals, etc.) to large donations that most schools don't enjoy. You hear so many things, but I think I'm understanding much better. I guess the real advantage is money, which makes everything else much easier. Nothing at all wrong with that.

Sorry for the delay. It does help, and after talking more with old friends of the family from CCHS I think it really boils down to smart people planning years ahead. These programs get heavy involvement from boosters, from hands-on comforts (meals, etc.) to large donations that most schools don't enjoy. You hear so many things, but I think I'm understanding much better. I guess the real advantage is money, which makes everything else much easier. Nothing at all wrong with that.

 

Money isn't an advantage for some private schools. The private school in the 1A finals has no home field and I think you would be hard-pressed to find a team in the state with a worse practice field. And the coaching staff is probably the lowest paid.

 

They do have a lot of support from parents, boosters, students, and fans.